Gradometer



Mar., 20, 1923.

W. E. PETERSON.

GRADONIETER.

FILED FEB. 3,

E NeR. Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll|llllllllllllllllillllllllllllillllllllllllll Sti Mar. Ztl, 19250GRADOMETER.

Applicationled February 3, 1921.

T 0 @ZZ whom. it may concern.'

Be it known that l, TARD EPHRAi-imr Pnrnnson, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at @Xtorth in the county of Granville and State otllorth Carolina, have invented new and useiiul improvements inGradometers, ot which the followingis a specification.

rlhis invention relates to a gradometer,

and it comprises a substantially rectangular casing having` atransparent top, a pendulum pivo tally mounted therein.y means foradjusting` said pendulum, and a scale arranged on the bottom of saidcasing, and adapted to indicate the inclination o" the surface on whichthe gradometer i' arranged.

rhe use ot instruments including a pivotally mounted pendulum .for thepurpose ot determining the inclination ot' surtaf'e has been proposedheretofore, but such prior devices have been open to several objections.The relatively complirated constructions employed have beenunnecessarily expensive to manufacture antL repair, A 'further objectionis the 'fact that it has been impossible to use such devices todetermine the inclination between two points not on a surtace.

in the present invention lr have produced a very simple device which maybe cheaply manutacturedr and in which there are relatively teu' parts toget out of order. ylfhe device consists of a boi; or casing; having atop of glass or other transparent material, and a pendulum arrangedtherein. The scale is arranged on the bottom ot the casing, and lieswholly in a single plane.

ln the present invention l provide a. scale whereby the angle may bedetermined in inches per toet or percentage ot grade. The rst system isuniversally employed by architects and the latter by engineers, andinstruments ot this character have heretofore usually been made for theexclusive use of one ot the two professions. Knowing the angular degreeand length of a given surface, it is still rather dilicult to transposeit into inches per foot, and total inclination, and l find itadvantageous to provide means for determinino' the inclinations eitherin percentage or inches per toot.

ln the accompanying drawings, l have shown one embodiment of theinvention.

.ln this showing,

Ul Pr:

Serial No. 442,089.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device.

Figure 2 is a centra-l, vertical longitudinal sec-tional view.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional 'view on the line 3 3 ot Figure 2,and

Figure is a detail view of the scale.

Referring to the drawingathe reference numeral l represents the bottomot the casing, to which is secured the side walls 2 and end walls 3. Thecasing be formed oi any suitable material, surh as wood, or the like',and is provided with an open top. rlhe side walls extend slightly abovethe end walls, and these extensions are provided with longitudinalgrooves 4. The top 5 is slidably arranged in these grooves. As shown itis made of glass, or other transparent material to permit inspection ofthe interior of the casing'. rl`he top may be retained in anylongitudinal arrangement by the hooks 6, passing through openings 7arranged adjacent to the ends ot the top and received in openings in theend walls. These hooks also serve as suspension means whereby the devicemay be suspended trom a cord stretched between two points to obtain thepercentage ot' grade ot a line conne'ting` the points7 as in `ogradiin;roadways, buil-ding operations and the like.

A pendulum S is pivotally mounted within the casing and is adapted toassume a perpendicular position at all tii'ces, As shown the upper endot the pedulum is curled as at 9 and adapted to surround a shaft or rod10, by means ot which it. is supported. The ends ot therod or shaft arepointed as at 11, and received in recess 12, in the ends or" screws 13passing through the side walls, Plates 14 of metal or similar Inaterialmay be arranged on the inside ot the side walls to form a moresubstantial bearing tor the screw. The construction provides a veryeiicient mounting for the pendulum, and permits it to be adjusted byloosening or tightening screws 13.

As shown a scale 15 is arranged on the bottom or" the casing beingsecured thereto in any suitable manner, as by means of an adhesive.rl"he scale is provided with two sets of indications 16 and 17, formingan engineers scale and an architects scale respectively.

ln the use ot the device. it is placed on a surface, the inclination ofwhich is to be determined, and the pendulum assuming a perpendicularposition indicatesthe angle of the surface on the scale 15. Theprovision of the scales 16 and 17 renders it possible to 'two points notina surface are to be determined, as in gradingroadways and the like, a'cord may be stretched 'between the vgiven pointsjand the hooks 6arranged over 'the cord. The nclinatonjof the line connecting the twopoints lI'na'y `rthen 'be readily 'determ'n'ed. It'will be ndt'edthatthehoo'ks also serve' 'to retain the cover "5 `in Qpesitio'm and thatthe @over may be readilyreneved by unscrey'ving the hooks, 'and slidingit ont 'of if the ,'gro''ves 4.

The 'construction vprevi-des, a very 'simple instrumentthat is 'cheaplto manufacture and assemble. The provision of a. scale arranged on a'fiati surface is adi'fan'ta'geous because of its simplicity andaccessibility when the cover is removed.

What I claimis:

y1. A gradometer comprising a substantially rectangular casing having anopen top, a transparent cover arranged 'on thet'op of said casing, apendulum 4pivotfally mounted in said casing'and a scale 'secured ftothe"tu bottoni 'of said -c'asu'rg and ce-"operating 'with said pendulum,said scale being arranged to indicate the percentage of grade and ininches per foot.

`2. A grad'ometer comprising a tially rectangular casing having an opentop, lthe Vside walls of `safid lcasing being provided with groovesadjacent to the top, a transparent cover slidably mounted in saidgrooves, a pendulum pivotally mounted in 'casin'g,and as'cale securedtothe bottom oil' said casing and co-operating'with said pendulum, saidscale being .arranged to indicate hetpercentage of grade and 'in inchesper 3. A gradometer comprising a subst`antial'ly" rectangular casinghaving an open top, thesi'de walls oi"- said casing being'provided withgreoves adjacent `to the top, a transparent; cover slidably mounted insaid grooves, [said 'cover being .provided with openings 'adjacent toitsends, threaded members 'passing through Vsaid openings and entering'`the end 'walls ofthe casing to retain substan- 'the cover in 'positionsaid members l'ieing-l l lprovided with hooks on vtheir upper endsadapted'to receive a cord to hold 'thefgrad oxneter in suspendedposition, a pendulum pivotally mounted in said casing, and a'scalesecured to the bottom ofsaid casingand cooperating with said pendi'ilum,said scale be-V ing arranged to indicate percentage'dflgrade and inlinches per foot.

In testimony whereof, l aliX my Sigllib'

